Closed for Repairs by Nancy Alonso (review)

BOOK REVIEWS CLOSED FOR REPAIRS. By Nancy Alonso. Trans. Anne Fountain. Willimantic , CT: Curbstone Press, 2007, p. 90, $13.95. Closed for Repairs is a collection of eleven vignettes, brief snapshots, glimpses of life in 21st -century post-revolutionary Cuba. Early on, the rustic expanse of a roughhewn, well-used city takes precedent over its people. Yet, as the tales progress, the resilient spirit of the people begins to peek through the decaying facade. However, before we can glimpse this vital force, we are confronted by the frustration and despair that can trouble a society plagued by a shortage of both technological and provisional resources. The first vignette, “The Excursion,” centers on the elaborate ritual of a man as he prepares to find a functioning pay phone. It is an exercise in futility that is certainly not unique to Cubans, but it has a rather caustic ending that suggests a formidable alternative to this man’s plight. Endings with an acerbic wit seem to be the mark of this collection. “Caesar,” a delightful tale about a kerchief-wearing pig, gives us both a glimpse of the vivid spirit of the people and one of Alonso’s trademark endings. The pig, which was originally bought and raised for slaughter, wiggles its way into the family. The tale reveals the compassionate nature of a people who understand that there are things more important than a contented belly. “An Informal Visit” follows the process as a town prepares for the visit of an influential governmental official who is a native son. It reveals how Cuban bureaucracy resembles that of its capitalist counterparts by using its resources to primp and preen before dignitaries instead of effectively dealing with the daily needs of its people. “The Test,” the story of a woman who feigns illness in order to get an additional allotment of milk and eggs, might be read as an example of petty strictures imposed on the people by a dictatorial government. However, it might also be read as a poke at the strategies a government uses for rationing scarce goods, and the lengths to which people will go to outwit them in order to enjoy a few of life’s meager luxuries. Similarly, “Never Finished,” which is about the limits placed on buying and selling homes, and “The Story of a Pothole,” the tale of an ever widening crevice, take jabs at bureaucracy and reveal a progression of restrictions. Yet, each tales heralds the resourceful nature and the hopeful spirit of the people. “Mutiny on Board” is the best example of this joie de vivre. After working all day, a young woman waits with a group of fellow commuters in the pouring rain for the consistently slow bus. When the bus finally arrives, a bullying bus driver and his self-important supervisor refuse to proceed until the workers reboard the bus in an orderly fashion. The riders stage a C  2008 Southeastern Council on Latin American Studies and Wiley Periodicals, Inc. 77 The Latin Americanist, October 2008 sit-in on the bus refusing to give in to the whims of the despots. With its very accessible narrator, “Mutiny” is the strongest story in the collection. Its comic portrayal of the petty bureaucrats’ attempts to abuse their power and its insistence that unity can overcome adversity embody the theme of this collection. Another strong piece is “I’ll Explain It to You.” Although the tale has layers that can be as cryptic as its title, its primary focus is a woman’s apologetic explanation of her jerry-rigged plumbing and guileless, but artful , adaptation to water rationing. She is visited by Raúl, a cousin from Miami, who eventually asks to use the restroom. This seemingly innocuous request launches a stream of dialogue that touches on the cultural differences between US Cubans and those on the island, on the true heights of creativity that necessity can breed, and on the sense of community and fair play that has to prevail when essential resources must be shared and rationed. Ultimately, the matter of perceptions is raised. Rather than being ashamed of her makeshift plumbing, she “supposed that he admired her engineering work and . . . was carried...